# ­xkcd thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574 "2020-05-28T00:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 279
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5563 "2026-02-06T14:56:00Z")
I once saw a crossword clue Daggers drawn (6) Answer: obelii. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5564 "2026-02-06T20:29:03Z")
> **[Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs](https://xkcd.com/3204/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/dinosaurs_and_non_dinosaurs.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/dinosaurs_and_non_dinosaurs.png) “Staplers are actually in Pseudosuchia, making them more closely related to crocodiles than to dinosaurs.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5565 "2026-02-06T20:34:41Z")
Given the amount of paper I no longer handle in my life due to e-damned-near-everything, I think a stapler was an odd choice for a non-dinosauric thing. They sure seem dinosauric in my home office. But he couldn’t make the crocodile joke if he’d drawn, e.g., a ladder or bucket or … . ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5566 "2026-02-06T22:01:41Z")
Unless the ladder fell over ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5567 "2026-02-06T22:22:22Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > “Staplers are actually in Pseudosuchia, making them more closely related to crocodiles than to dinosaurs.” The [pterosaur story today](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filter-feeding-pterosaur-with-newslink/1027438) mistakenly said they were dinosaurs-I had to ask a mod to fix the title twice, once for it misspelling “dinosaur” then when I read the article to change that to pterosaur. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5568 "2026-02-07T15:26:08Z")
I thought that the current consensus did put the pterosaurs and quetzelcoatls in Dinosauria? I would have liked to have seen some edge cases. Like, mammoths or smilodons definitely aren’t dinosaurs, but seem more dinosaurish than squirrels do. Or procompsognathids are dinosaurs, but seem less dinosaurish than brontos but more than pigeons. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5569 "2026-02-07T21:02:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I thought that the current consensus did put the pterosaurs and quetzelcoatls in Dinosauria? [Definitely not.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avemetatarsalia#Classification) > [@Chronos](#): > > Like, mammoths or smilodons definitely aren’t dinosaurs, but seem more dinosaurish than squirrels do. Or procompsognathids are dinosaurs, but seem less dinosaurish than brontos but more than pigeons. What definition are you using for “dinosaurish”? Because any theropods like compys are very much archetypically “disosaurish” to me. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5570 "2026-02-07T21:44:46Z")
Misusing “dinosaur” for “prehistoric animal”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5571 "2026-02-07T21:49:44Z")
Part of what makes dinosaurs seem like dinosaurs is being large. Small dinosaurs, therefore, seem less dinosauric. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5572 "2026-02-07T23:14:10Z")
And I thought being a dino had more to do with the anatomy of the hip bones! Which comes in two subgroups, Saurischia (lizard-hipped) and Ornithischia (bird-hipped). Pterosaurs have another type of hip. There is a hole missing. They do have a **[common ancestor, but they split](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-a-pterosaur-is-not-a-dinosaur-87082921/)**: [![](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/fc9V7GcMD6WBAc4jFl7LNOYlu0k=/fit-in/1072x0/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/97/4b/974b9f02-07bc-4edc-b284-1cd3bcd86439/dinosaur-pterosaur-tree.jpg) ](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/fc9V7GcMD6WBAc4jFl7LNOYlu0k=/fit-in/1072x0/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/97/4b/974b9f02-07bc-4edc-b284-1cd3bcd86439/dinosaur-pterosaur-tree.jpg) Several times. Size is secondary for this cladogram. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5573 "2026-02-07T23:19:13Z")
A common colloquial usage of “dinosaur” is a huge, weird-looking, animal that’s gone extinct. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5574 "2026-02-08T04:53:04Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > And I thought being a dino had more to do with the anatomy of the hip bones! There are five distinguishing characteristics all dinosaurs have. Three of them involve holes in the skull and, honestly I can never remember what they are. The other two are an upright stance (as opposed to sprawling)\* and a hinge ankle (flexes in only one plane). \*So don’t glue a sail on the back of an iguana and expect it to pass in your movie. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5575 "2026-02-08T06:04:26Z")
I would have thought the Jurassic Park films would have changed that attitude (it’s not one I ever had, though) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5576 "2026-02-08T12:01:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > a stapler was an odd choice for a non-dinosauric thing How about a hat, or a brooch? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5577 "2026-02-08T14:19:53Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > How about a hat, or a brooch? Penny’s is having a sale! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5578 "2026-02-08T15:50:47Z")
Oooh, look! It’s like a big Tylenol in the sky! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5579 "2026-02-10T07:50:51Z")
> **[Carbon Dating](https://xkcd.com/3205/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/carbon_dating.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/carbon_dating.png) “This dating is corroborated by the presence of stone tools at the site, rather than earlier and less effective helium ones.” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5580 "2026-02-10T14:48:08Z")
Things just haven’t been the same ever since baryogenesis. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5581 "2026-02-10T15:41:42Z")
Massive particles matter. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5582 "2026-02-10T20:27:52Z")
Can you turn a gun into a rocket? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IdlQsjq5vKo/maxresdefault.jpg "What if you made a jetpack using rifles?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdlQsjq5vKo) Brian [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=278) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=280)